I know, I know. If you have read GetReligion for the past four-plus years, you know that we’re convinced that the rise of the Latino evangelical voter (often paired with traditional Catholic Latino voters) is an emerging story in American public life.
Part of this story is the rise of Pentecostalism in the Spanish-speaking world (classic Pew Research Center study here) and another part is linked to the defense of Latino family values (to use a loaded phrase).
There’s much more to this story than the role these voters played in Donald Trump’s surprising (to some) showings in some Florida and Texas zip codes. Click here (“New York Times listens to Latino evangelicals: 'Politically homeless' voters pushed toward Trump”) and then here (“Concerning Hispanic evangelicals, secret Trump voters and white evangelical women in Georgia”).
To be blunt about it, it appears that political-desk reporters are struggling with this issue, in part because it undercuts some themes in long-predicted demographic trends backing Democrats. You can see that in the recent, oh-so-predictable New York Times story that ran with this massive double-decker headline:
A Vexing Question for Democrats: What Drives Latino Men to Republicans?
Several voters said values like individual responsibility and providing for one’s family, and a desire for lower taxes and financial stability, led them to reject a party embraced by their parents.
The story is getting some Twitter attention because of this magisterial statement of woke Times doctrine:
Some of the frustrations voiced by Hispanic Republican men are stoked by misinformation, including conspiracy theories claiming that the “deep state” took over during the Trump administration and a belief that Black Lives Matter protests caused widespread violence.
But it’s more important to focus on the bigger picture, which is that this trend is all about Latino men wanting to get rich by being part of the American dream. The overture is long, but essential:
Erik Ortiz, a 41-year-old hip-hop music producer in Florida, grew up poor in the South Bronx, and spent much of his time as a young adult trying to establish himself financially. Now he considers himself rich. And he believes shaking off the politics of his youth had something to do with it.
“Everybody was a liberal Democrat — in my neighborhood, in the Bronx, in the local government,” said Mr. Ortiz, whose family is Black and from Puerto Rico. “The welfare state was bad for our people — the state became the father in the Black and brown household and that was a bad, bad mistake.” Mr. Ortiz became a Republican, drawn to messages of individual responsibility and lower taxes. To him, generations of poor people have stayed loyal to a Democratic Party that has failed to transform their lives.
“Why would I want to be stuck in that mentality?” he said.
While Democrats won the vast majority of Hispanic voters in the 2020 presidential race, the results also showed Republicans making inroads with this demographic, the largest nonwhite voting group — and particularly among Latino men. According to exit polls, 36 percent of Latino men voted for Donald J. Trump in 2020, up from 32 percent in 2016. These voters also helped Republicans win several House seats in racially diverse districts that Democrats thought were winnable, particularly in Texas and Florida. Both parties see winning more Hispanic votes as critical in future elections.
Yet a question still lingers from the most recent one, especially for Democrats who have long believed they had a major edge: What is driving the political views of Latino men?
No one would claim, obviously, that economic issues are not a crucial part of this story. That would be dumb and simplistic.
But here is my question, again: Why are many reporters so committed to ignoring the role of religion and cultural issues in this drama, including the role of evangelical and Pentecostal churches (including Catholic charismatics)?
It’s like they Just. Don’t. Get. It. You know?
Check out this rather haunted sentence:
Like any voter, these men are also driven by their opinions on a variety of issues: Many mention their anti-abortion views, support for gun rights and strict immigration policies.
I thought it was interesting that the Times team never paused to talk to Republican activists (most are Latinos) who are leading the efforts to encourage this trend. Would they agree that all of this is about money and success, alone? If you went to a massive Latino megachurch in Orlando or Houston, would people in those pews say that this trend was just about money, money, money and that’s that?
To catch another glimpse of this “religion ghost,” check out this summary passage way down in a Washington Post political-desk story that ran with this headline: “Transgender rights emerge as a growing political flash point.”
The shifts in public opinion could make the issue delicate for Republicans. One Republican strategist, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive subject, said Americans’ greater acceptance of the LGBTQ community means the transgender debate is a “potent message” only within communities that are socially conservative or religious.
Republicans plan to target heavily Hispanic districts, especially those in South Florida and Texas that embraced Trump’s message of keeping America and its families safe, the strategist said.
This is, of course, “Trump’s message.” It has nothing to do with the teachings of traditional brands of faith on related issues, including Roman Catholicism and evangelical and charismatic Protestantism.
Got that?